One of the PAC\u2019s cofounders, Johnathon Burrows, is a former Fresno City Hall staffer who enlisted Gurm as a campaign consultant in an unsuccessful bid to unseat former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield). Burrows, a Democrat, suspended his campaign before the congressional primary and, in January 2024, repurposed the funds he raised to start Youth Save Democracy.<\/p>\n
Burrows and Gurm previously worked in the office of District 7\u2019s current seatholder, Councilmember Nelson Esparza, and each has received five-figure consulting contracts with Youth Save Democracy.<\/p>\n
According to its website, The PAC\u2019s mission is to mobilize young voters to strengthen democracy, protect voting rights and fight against authoritarianism in America. Gurm said the youth-led PAC has helped activate dozens of college campus Young Democrats chapters across the country, as well as register Gen Z voters and support young candidates running for public office.<\/p>\n
But experts say Youth Save Democracy\u2019s spending on political strategy consultants and operating costs is \u201cunusually high\u201d compared to its political contributions toward candidates for elected office.<\/p>\n
Political peers in Fresno County on both sides of the political aisle also have noted that much of the funds raised nationwide by the PAC for political spending has been funneled toward local Fresno elections and candidates. The PAC\u2019s cofounders have also personally benefited financially from the funds raised, as political candidates and consultants.<\/p>\n
Gurm said in an interview with The Bee that Youth Save Democracy does not shy away from the fact that it supports young candidates in the region because creating a bluer, more Democratic, Central Valley is in part why the PAC was created. He downplayed some of the criticism, saying it came from a few voices within the local Democratic Party, and said the necessary firewalls are in place to ensure his personal campaign and his political consulting work don\u2019t intermingle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the extra scrutiny on Youth Save Democracy and whatnot has been a product of me running for council,\u201d Gurm said.<\/p>\n
![\"Dictrict](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/FRS_EPZ_D7_GURM_MUG.JPG\" "\\"FRS_EPZ_D7_GURM_MUG.JPG\\"")
Fresno City Council District 7 candidate Nav Gurm, seen during a forum held by The Fresno Bee Friday, April 17, 2026 in downtown Fresno ERIC PAUL ZAMORA ezamora@fresnobee.com <\/p>\n
The Bee analyzed Youth Save Democracy\u2019s public financial records filed with the Federal Elections Commission and fundraising emails, as well as conducted more than a dozen interviews with PAC founders, affiliates, nonpartisan campaign finance watchdogs and members of Fresno\u2019s political community.<\/p>\n
\u2018Local Democrats are concerned\u2019<\/p>\n
A lion\u2019s share of the PAC\u2019s spending \u2014 83% \u2014 is used for operational costs.<\/p>\n
Between Jan. 1, 2025 and March 31, Youth Save Democracy spent $1.45 million of its $1.74 million total expenditure to pay for political consultants, texting software, legal compliance, fundraising software, website software and more, according to the Federal Elections Commission.<\/p>\n
During that same period, the PAC only spent about $297,159 on political races, according to county, state and federal data. About 40% of the spending that went toward local and state races, or $58,800, went toward Fresno political entities, nonprofits and candidates, including Gurm, according to the latest FEC data<\/a>.<\/p>\n Spending on political consultants has been a noticeable line item of their expenses. Esparza, earned $41,000 as a consultant in 2024, as well as a maximum campaign contribution to his state assembly race. Since 2025, Youth Save Democracy has paid six Fresno area consultants nearly half a million dollars for political and digital consulting work.<\/p>\n Some, like Esparza, said it\u2019s important to provide political engagement opportunities to young people and that the organization\u2019s impact has been a positive one.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m incredibly proud of the work YSD has done throughout the years to build a bench,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Others are worried about the impact the organization could have on local politics.<\/p>\n \u201cMany local Democrats are concerned about the ethics of using so much money from a national PAC to financially benefit so many local individuals, their friends, their consulting firms, and their friends planning to run for office,\u201d Dee Barnes, an alternate for the Fresno County Democratic Central Committee, said in a statement to The Bee.<\/p>\n The race for the 20th Congressional District seat, then held by House Speaker McCarthy, an ally of President Donald Trump, was an uphill battle from the start for Burrows in the solidly Republican district that<\/a> encompasses parts of Fresno, Kern, Kings and Tulare counties.<\/p>\n Still, Burrows, a first-time political candidate and former public relations director for Esparza\u2019s office, aggressively raised money from a base of donors nationwide after he announced his candidacy in February 2023.<\/p>\n Ten months later, after McCarthy announced his retirement, Burrows announced on Dec. 13, 2023 that he was suspending his campaign<\/a> in order for a fellow Democrat in the race to make it onto the ballot. His campaign raised a total of $672,855 by the end of 2023, according to campaign records.<\/a><\/p>\n Gurm, who worked on Burrows\u2019 campaign, said the goal was to \u201chold McCarthy\u2019s feet to the fire and not allow him to get distracted by the national stuff, and still remember that he has a district to serve.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJohn (Burrows) ran for Congress to also work on flipping local seats in the hopes of creating a bluer Central Valley to one day flip the Congressional seats that don\u2019t seem very flippable right now,\u201d Gurm said.<\/p>\n Less than a month after dropping out of the race, on Jan. 11, 2024, Burrows\u2019 campaign committee fund was renamed Youth For Democracy, according to FEC filings<\/a>.<\/p>\n Burrows currently serves as the top communications official for the Central Unified School District.<\/p>\n Youth Save Democracy awarded one Central Unified trustee a $3,000 political strategy consulting contract in 2023; they also made four campaign contributions in 2024 totalling $7,000 to another.<\/p>\n Michael Beckel, director of money in politics reform at Issue One, a nonprofit seeking to reduce the influence of money in politics, said it\u2019s not uncommon for an unsuccessful losing candidate to convert their war chest into a PAC.<\/p>\n \u201cPACs give politicians a perch from which they can continue to influence elections and support like-minded candidates,\u201d Beckel said in an email.<\/p>\n Experts say it\u2019s not uncommon for PACs to be administered by consultants. Because PACs are loosely regulated at the federal level, there are few limitations on how its funds can be spent, Beckel and Holman said.<\/p>\n But what is uncommon is that Youth Save Democracy spends about 80% of its budget on operational costs.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s unusually high,\u201d Beckel, of Issue One said. \u201cDonors and potential donors might have serious questions and legitimate concerns if a PAC spends an unusually high portion of its funds on administrative costs.\u201d<\/p>\n Burrows and Gurm said they don\u2019t think this is a fair assessment. Their operations expenses may be higher than traditional PACs because they directly employ young people and support direct advocacy work such as voter registration campaigns on college campuses nationwide. Youth Save Democracy isn\u2019t the type of PAC that is strictly focused on political contributions, they said. The group does \u201cmessaging and all kinds of other stuff,\u201d Gurm said.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of the work we\u2019ve done is direct engagement, which doesn\u2019t fit neatly since it\u2019s not directly for a candidate,\u201d Gurm said. \u201cSo there\u2019s work that gets grouped in the quote, unquote consulting.\u201d<\/p>\n National money, local politics<\/p>\n Since 2024, Youth Save Democracy has contributed to several Fresno-area politicians, from newcomers in rural communities to young Fresno City Council candidates to familiar Fresno politicians seeking higher state office.<\/p>\n Gurm said cultivating and supporting young talent to run for office is part of their mission.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re from the Central Valley, and doing good work in our backyard is a priority. Bench-building is a priority,\u201d Gurm said. \u201cWe\u2019ve supported young candidates running for local office across California and here in the Central Valley, too.\u201d<\/p>\n One political candidate that benefited from the PAC\u2019s money was Gurm himself.<\/p>\n According to city records, on Dec. 12, 2024, Gurm received the first donation to his City Council campaign from Youth Save Democracy for $5,500.<\/p>\n In order to comply with state law as a political candidate, Gurm said he is not involved in any political spending decisions at the state or local level \u2013 including the decision to contribute to his own campaign.<\/p>\n Gurm said he stepped down as the PAC\u2019s treasurer as soon as he launched his city council campaign. He remains involved with the PAC\u2019s federal organizing work as a consultant through his Five River Strategies consulting business.<\/p>\n The group\u2019s treasurer Gobinder Pandher, a medical student, said in an email to The Bee that Youth Save Democracy contributed to Gurm\u2019s race \u201cbased on an assessment of his viability as a candidate, the youth and energy he brings to the race, and his alignment with our organization\u2019s value.\u201d<\/p>\n Six months after receiving his contribution, Gurm emailed a Youth Save Democracy email list on June 27, 2025, asking for a donation to his Fresno City Council race with links to his campaign fundraiser, according to an email reviewed by The Bee.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter Donald Trump\u2019s re-election, I knew I needed to do something more to defend the communities most vulnerable,\u201d he said in his email.<\/p>\n Craig Holman, a lobbyist on ethics, lobbying and campaign finance rules for nonprofit progressive consumer watchdog Public Citizen, said it\u2019s uncommon, but not illegal, to see a candidate set up an outside PAC that provides a financial contribution to their campaigns down the line.<\/p>\n PACs are loosely regulated at the federal level and there are few limitations on how they spend their money, according to experts. But some are concerned with how much is spent on local elections instead of federal races, and whether the message sold to donors matches the group\u2019s work and political spending.<\/p>\n \u201cIt just doesn\u2019t smell right,\u201d said retired assemblymember Juan Arambula, who\u2019s supporting Gurm\u2019s opponent, Ariana Martinez Lott, in the upcoming primary election. \u201cDonors, I assume, are giving to impact congressional races. That\u2019s the pitch.\u201d<\/p>\n Gurm said the organization is transparent with its donors, who understand there\u2019s a level of discretion that comes with supporting their work. The PAC includes a disclaimer on all fundraisers that they support candidates at all levels of government nationwide.<\/p>\n Plus he said, the group is preparing to get much more involved with competitive congressional races after the June 2 primary elections, especially the push to overturn David Valadao (R-Hanford)\u2019s 22nd district tossup seat<\/a> and defend Adam Gray (D-Merced)\u2019s 13th district seat.<\/p>\n \u201cThe work is being done,\u201d Gurm said. \u201cThe amounts are really small, but we did a direct mail voter registration program in 10 swing congressional races across the country last year.\u201d<\/p>\n Holman, of Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, said PACs are usually set up for a specific political purpose and length of time.<\/p>\n Other political action committees donating to local races in the region, such as the recently-formed Central Valley Council<\/a>, are formed locally and funded by a few primarily local businesses.<\/p>\n Gurm estimates the PAC has supported 40-70 Young College Democrat clubs across the nation with canvassing materials and other resources to help with tabling and recruitment events. The group hired a campus organizing director, who was paid $22,000 for political strategy consulting between 2023 and 2024.<\/p>\n Supporters say Youth Save Democracy\u2019s model and expenditures are similar to that of moveon.org<\/a>, a progressive nation organization that engages in grassroots advocacy through its 501(c)(4) organization. The group also supports progressive candidates through its political action committee which is funded by hundreds of thousands of small donations instead of operating like traditional PACs that \u201cfunnel industry contributions to candidates in exchange for access<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Gurm said that raising questions about the PAC\u2019s operations are fair and that he\u2019s confident the organization\u2019s operations are transparent. He says he\u2019s proud of the work they do across the country, and thinks the model might be new for a city like Fresno.<\/p>\n He thinks the scrutiny following his political work is tied to his campaign.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, I don\u2019t have DUIs. I don\u2019t have sex scandals,\u201d Gurm said. \u201cThey don\u2019t have other s\u2014 to attack me on.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 4:21 PM.<\/p>\n CORRECTION: The story was updated to correct the year Youth Save Democracy awarded a consulting contract to a Central Unified trustee.<\/p>\n Corrected May 18, 2026<\/p>\n Youth Save Democracy is a PAC aims to mobilize young Democratic voters across the nation\u2019s college campuses. Burrows, second from right, is the PAC\u2019s co-founder. Special to The Bee How did Youth Save Democracy get started?<\/p>\n
![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/FRS_mccarthyclovisvisit02.jpeg\" "\\"FRS_mccarthyclovisvisit02\\"")
Former U.S. Congressman and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy talks to local leaders and VIPs during a meet-and-greet at the speaker\u2019s Clovis office on Thursday, Aug. 3, 3023. CRAIG KOHLRUSS Fresno Bee file <\/p>\n A Youth Save Democracy at an event on behalf of U.S. Rep. Adam Gray (D-Merced) in 2024. Special to The Bee How do other PACs operate locally?<\/p>\n
Youth Save Democracy team-member tables at a \u201cDemocracy Day\u201d event in Texas. Special to The Bee <\/p>\n
![\"Profile](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Melissa_Montalvo_Headshot.jpeg\")